Monday, January 31, 2011

IS THERE NO END TO MAN'S CRUELTY TO ANIMALS? MASSIVE KILLING OF SLED DOGS IN CANADA

By Debbie Bulloch



Is there no end to man’s cruelty to animals? The following report (from a story that appeared on today’s Vancouver Sun) is sickening in its own right. That it happened in Canada, a country that I have grown to love, makes it doubly painful to read.

(This story is particularly gory in its details. Caution is advised.)

Police are investigating the slaughter of 100 husky dogs used during the 2010 Winter Olympics to pull tourist sleds in the Canadian ski resort of Whistler, authorities said Monday.

The grisly killings were reportedly carried out by one worker over two days in April 2010 with a shotgun and a knife, with reports of injured dogs crawling out of a mass grave.

Local media said the dogs were killed because business slumped in the two months following the Games and they were no longer needed by tourism companies Outdoor Adventures and Howling Dogs, which sell dog-sled rides to tourists.

The man responsible for the "execution-style" cull of 100 sled dogs that were no longer of use to the Whistler-based company "due to a slow winter" season had known a lot of the dogs. He is so traumatized by the slaughter that he now suffers from nightmares, panic attacks and depression, according to a confidential workers ‘ compensation review decision obtained by the Vancouver Sun.

The unidentified man said he had raised many of the 300 dogs owned by his employer, in fact, naming many of them. But over a two-day period in late April 2010, he agree to carry out the orders from his employer to euthanize some of them because part of his job duties "included herd control."

The BC SPCA is launching an investigation of the cull.

In the document, the man thought he had put down 30 per cent of the company's herd — approximately 70 animals — but the employer’s report of injury to the animals, filed with the review board in May, stated it had actually been 100 dogs.

The information became known after the employee filed for workers’ compensation after developing post-traumatic stress disorder for allegedly being forced to kill the dogs — potentially after bookings slumped following the 2010 Olympic Games.

A veterinarian had been contacted but refused to participate in the cull of healthy animals.

The report also stated the man tasked with the job tried to adopt out the dogs but with limited success.

"In the past, his practice when euthanizing a dog was to take it for a walk in the woods and give them a nice meat meal to distract them. That would make for a calm environment and kept the dogs away from the general population so as not to disrupt them. He would use a gun to euthanize the dogs," the report states.

However, because of the large number of dogs, he said he was forced to euthanize the dogs in full view of the other animals. By about the 15th dog, it appeared to him "the dogs were experiencing anxiety and stress from observing the euthanasia of other members of the pack and were panicking."

As a result of the panic, a dog named Susie was only wounded by the employee.

"Susie was the mother of his family's pet dog 'Bumble.' He had to chase Suzie through the yard because the horrific noise she made when wounded caused him to drop the leash,” the report states. “Although she had the left side of her cheek blown off . . . he was unable to catch her. He then obtained a gun with a scope and used it to shoot her when she settled down close to another group of dogs."

It also states when he went to get the dog, he was bitten in the arm. After disposing of Suzie's body, he returned and noticed another dog — named Poker — that was special to him and not slated to be euthanized had been accidentally shot.

"Poker was covered in blood from a neck wound and covered in his own feces. He believed Poker suffered for approximately 15 minutes before he could be put down," the report states.

The employee had put down about 55 dogs on April 21, and by the end of the day, the dogs were so panicked they were biting him and he had to wrap his arms in foam to prevent injury.

"He also had to perform what he described as ‘execution-style’ killings where he wrestled the dogs to the ground and stood on them with one foot to shoot them. The last few kills were ‘multiple-shot’ killings as he was simply unable to get a clean shot,” the report says. “He described a guttural sound he had never heard before from the dogs and fear in their eyes."

But the killings on April 23 were described as "worse" than two days earlier because the herd's fear and anxiety began almost immediately.

On that day, the first significant killing happened to a dog named Nora, who he had shot 20 minutes earlier and put into the mass grave. He noticed her crawling around amid the 10 or so bodies already there so had to climb down into the grave and "put her out of her misery."

At that point, the reports states he "wanted nothing more than to stop the 'nightmare,' but he continued because he had been given a job to finish and did not want to prolong the suffering and anxiety of the whole kennel population. He stated that he felt 'numb.'"

His last memory of killing the final 15 dogs was "fuzzy" and in some cases he felt it was simpler to "get behind the dogs and slit their throats and let them bleed out."

The report states he was “covered” in blood by the end.

"When he finished he cleared up the mess, filled in the mass grave and tried to bury the memories as deeply as he could."

Five days after the final culling, he sought treatment from a clinical counsellor who indicated he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

His family physician also indicated the worker — who resides at the same location as the dogs with his family — complained of "panic attacks, nightmares, sleep disturbances, anger, irritability and depressed mood since culling approximately 100 dogs."

Marcie Moriarty, head of the BC SPCA cruelty-investigations division, said the man, the general manager of Outdoor Adventures at the time, could have simply said no.

"I've no doubt he has suffered post-traumatic stress but there's a thing called choice. I absolutely would not have done this and he could have said no,” she said. “This is a criminal-code offense and to have just stopped. I don't feel sorry for this guy for one minute.”

Moriarty said the SPCA began investigating the culling this weekend after CKNW radio provided her with a heavily censored WCB report.

WCB spokeswoman Donna Freeman said she cannot confirm a claim has been filed by any party because it would be "considered private because they're medical files."

Moriarty said while RCMP have been contacted about the culling, the BC SPCA are the lead investigators and will be executing warrants to obtain further information.

They plan to uncover the mass grave to examine the dogs' remains but can't do that immediately because the ground is frozen under several feet of snow.

In a statement, Outdoor Adventures spokesman Graham Aldcroft said there are no firearms on site and any time a sled dog is euthanized in the future, it will be done in a vet's office. "While we were aware of the relocation and euthanization of dogs at ‘Howling Dog Tours,’ we were completely unaware of the details of the incident until reading the WCB document Sunday," he said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The maximum penalty in Canada for injuring or endangering an animal is five years in jail, while animal cruelty is punishable by a fine and 18 months in jail.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

IS YELLOWSTONE PARK ABOUT TO BLOW UP?

By Debbie Bulloch



Much has been written lately about “supervolcanoes.” A supervolcano is a Volcano capable of producing a volcanic eruption with ejecta (particles that come out of a volcano’s vent, travels through the air or under water, and falls back on the ground surface or on the ocean floor) greater than 240 cubic miles (1,000 cubic kilometers). This is thousands of times larger than most historic volcanic eruptions.

Supervolcanoes can occur when magma in the Earth rises into the crust from a hotspot but is unable to break through the crust. Pressure builds in a large and growing magma pool until the crust is unable to contain the pressure. They can also form at convergent plate boundaries and continental hotspot locations.

There are currently six known supervolcanoes: the Yellowstone, Long Valley, and Valles Caldera in the United States; Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Indonesia; Taupo Volcano, North Island, New Zealand; and Aira Caldera, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. Although there are only a handful of Quaternary supervolcanoes, supervolcanic eruptions typically cover huge areas with lava and volcanic ash and cause a long-lasting change to weather (such as the triggering of a small ice age) sufficient to threaten the extinction of species.

Due to its location in Yellowstone Park, the Yellowstone supervolcano has attracted a lot of attention. Between Homes members Buccaneer Braveheart and Xanadu Dominquez have both pointed to me that we are all living atop a ticking time bomb—when it finally goes, much of civilization as we now know it will be wiped out.

I am not much of a fan of doomsday scenarios (why worry about something that: (a) we have no control over and (b) may happen today, tomorrow or not until a million years from now). Still, there is sufficient interest on this subject that I thought I would bring to you this write-up on the Yellowstone Supervolcano.

Enjoy (sort of).

Underground Yellowstone ‘Supervolcano’ Causing Earth to Rise in Some Spots

By Brett Michael Dykes

(Reprinted from Yahoo News)


It's like something one of those disaster movie trailers with a basso profundo voiceover: Man, or perhaps woman, on a family vacation takes in the breathtaking scope of nature found in Yellowstone National Park--only to see the earth beneath their feet violently explode. Will our hero and his or her family be swallowed in the molten horror of -- "Supervolcano"?

But this scenario isn't the stuff of Hollywood fantasy--scientists caution that there's a chance that Yellowstone could blow. One day, anyway.

Yes, there apparently exists an underground volcano whose past eruptions -- the last one estimated at some 640,000 years ago -- have been, according to National Geographic, "a thousand times more powerful than Mount St. Helens's 1980 eruption." The supervolcano lurks a few miles underground and spreads out across an area roughly the size of Los Angeles. But here's the best part: It's taking deep "breaths," as the magazine puts it, causing miles of ground around it to rise dramatically. Since 2004, researchers say that the ground above the supervolcano rose as much as 2.8 inches per year.

So is the "swelling magma reservoir" ready to blow? Well, scientists say it will eventually--and when it does it could spew ash as high as 25 miles into the air, rendering an estimated two-thirds of the country inhabitable. Remember, it was a massive volcanic eruption that some scientists think wiped out the dinosaurs. And here we thought that Icelandic volcano last year was a major calamity.


Yellowstone Park - National Geographic video

Friday, January 14, 2011

JORDAN RICE - AUSTRALIAN HERO

By Debbie Bulloch



As you all probably know by now, devastating floods have washed over large portions of Australia, covering the land in a muddy, brown sea. It is estimated that the flood waters now cover an area of Australia as large as the combined size of Germany and France.

The northeastern Australian state of Queensland remains burdened by deadly floods that have affected hundreds of thousands of residents in the past several days.
A tropical cyclone and heavy rainfall around Christmas inundated numerous river basins, affecting 200,000 people across a large area of Australia.



The Earth-observing Terra satellite, managed by NASA for an international consortium, photographed the swollen Fitzroy, Mackenzie, Comet and Dawson rivers in Queensland on December 31. At Rockhampton, a city on the Fitzroy with more than 60,000 residents, military aircraft are bringing in supplies after road closures cut the city off from the rest of the state.

Out of all of this devastation and human suffering, a tale of true heroism has emerged.

Jordan Rice, a 13-year-old Australian boy, has emerged as a tragic-heroic figure in news accounts of the disastrous Australian floods, after he asked a rescuer to save his little brother, Blake, before himself. Jordan Rice and his mother, Donna, were swept away by floodwaters and drowned before rescuer Warren McErlean could return for Jordan and his mother.

Jordan's father, John Tyson, told the Toowoomba Chronicle Jordan could not swim and was terrified of water.



"I can only imagine what was going on inside to give up his life to save his brother, even though he was petrified of water," he said. "He is our little hero."

Tyson told the paper his longtime partner, Donna Rice, was driving with two of her young sons in tire-level water when her engine stopped. She called for help and the three of them got on the roof of the car as the floodwaters rose quickly. Bystanders were not offering help until McErlean tied a rope around himself and went after them.

A wave of water was coming fast when McErlean reached them with the rope. "Save my brother first," Jordan said, according to McErlean.

Jordan and his mother were swept away and drowned--only 10-year-old Blake survived.

In this era of psychopathic killers and fake heroes, young Jordan Rice has emerged as a symbol of all that is good and kind and noble in the human race. By sacrificing his life so that his young brother could live, Jordan Rice has become a true modern hero.

Thank you and God Bless young Mr. Rice.

If you wish to help our Aussie brothers and sisters as they deal with the flood waters, please go here:

Australian Flood Relief



Or go here and see what my fellow bike riders are doing to help the Australian flood victims. Go cyclists!

CyclistsGet Ready to Help Australian Flood Victims

Saturday, January 8, 2011

A SPANISH STYLE SUNSET - MALAGUEÑA

By Debbie Bulloch



This evening, on the drive home from work, I decided to take the “long” way. While driving home I was rewarded to the sight of a typical, beautiful Southern California sunset. The fiery red sun, making its final descent into the blue Pacific, somehow reminded me of the colors of the Spanish flag.



Watching the setting sun put me in the mood for Spanish music. The song “Malagueña” was originally the sixth movement of the Suite Andalucia by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.

Enjoy!

MALAGUEÑA – (Piano version by composer Ernesto Lecuona)



MALAGUEÑA – (Guitar version by Jose Feliciano)





MALAGUEÑA – (Guitar version by Charo)

Friday, January 7, 2011

HAPPY (BELATED) NEW 20111

By Debbie Bulloch



For my first post of the year I want to share this song with you. A friend sent me the Youtube link to the song and after I finished listening (to both versions) there were tears coming down my cheeks. (I know, I am such a sentimental wuss).

Enjoy!









STING - Fields of Gold



EVA CASSIDY - Fields of Gold



Fields of Gold (lyrics)

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold

So she took her love for to gaze awhile
Among the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
And you can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We will walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We will walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
As you lie in fields of gold

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold